Sweet Greetings from India, Uganda, Honduras, and Indonesia

Happy Mail Call Monday!

Well, last week, saying "I don't think I'm going to get any letters" worked out pretty well for me- I got three that evening! So I'm going to try it again, post this early, and hope that that nets me some more letters in my mailbox today. :)

This week we actually got four letters! The first was from our new correspondent Amisha in India!

Amisha is actually my mom's sponsor child- she chose to sponsor her because she has another girl named Amisha (who was actually her first financially sponsored child.) She offered to let me write to her because she might be a little overwhelmed adding another letter-writer to her crew. I'm so happy that I get to write to Amisha! And since I got signed up as her correspondent a few days after mom sponsored her, we got a letter right away. Amisha was newly registered to the program, and I'm really excited that her letter arrived so quickly.

Amisha's letter didn't say much about her- it was written by a project worker, and included her mom and dad's name, the fact that her favorite game is hide and seek, she likes fish curry, and her house is made of straw. She also shared her best friend's name but I'm not 100% sure I read it right. On the back of the letter, a project worker shared about Amisha's community. They live in a tribal settlement "in the middle of the forest!" It's a Hindu community, and most people who work either do agriculture or they cut bamboo. Amisha's dad cuts bamboo and her mom works as a housewife. The project worker shared that a large number of the young people in this community are addicted to drugs and alcohol, and they don't have enough medical care or education. They also said that most of the adults are illiterate. I picked up a vibe of hopelessness from the letter. I just get the intuitive feeling that there is not a lot of positivity in Amisha's community, and that the people are hardworking, but maybe there's not a lot of happy stuff going on there. I'm so thankful that Amisha gets to be a part of the project, along with other kids in her community- it will be interesting to see how the project impacts the outlook of the community members over the next several years!

In the next letter, we heard from Caleb in Uganda!

Caleb had a birthday in August, and his financial sponsor apparently ended up sending a gift after I sent a small one. All in all, with $25, Caleb was able to purchase a hen, bed  sheets, sugar, shoes, rice, some soda and candy! He was so cute- he wrote it all out in a "budget." So responsible. Caleb also shared a memory verse with us- John 14:6-7.

Then there was a letter from little Anahi in Honduras!

We keep going back and forth calling her Katherine and Anahi. : ) Since her mama writes her letters, I'm just gonna go by what she says in each previous letter. Anahi is so cute! She said that she hopes I am doing well "by the side of my husband" and that our family is doing well, too. She hopes that I can come visit her soon (I'd really like that, too!) Unfortunately, Anahi's grandfather passed away recently. Her mom said that she is so sad about it, because she liked to play with him and they shared a lot of things, and every time she sees his picture, she cries. But she also said that "God decided to send him to heaven," and that he was a leader in his church. Anahi listed several family members' names and asked that I pray for them because they don't go to church, and said that it's a blessing that so many of Brandon's family members go to church with us. I often tell my kids that sometimes we take up a whole row of seats, and Anahi described that as "all your family is in the way!" She added a thank you for a card and a coloring book, and said that "she likes to paint the eyes." She finished the letter with "May God bless you today, tomorrow, and always. With love!" and included this SUPER CUTE picture. This is the first time one of my kids has drawn me in their pictures. I love it!

Lastly, later in the week we heard from Prayer!

We hadn't gotten a letter from either of our Indonesian kids in over three months, so it was great to get a letter from Prayer. And I'm hoping that means there's a letter from Tasya on the way as well, since we haven't heard from her since June! Prayer said that he moved up in school and is now in 7th grade. He said they celebrated Thanksgiving in his town, and they had lots of guests, including families from other villages. They thanked the Lord for his blessings and for the farmers and their harvest. They all had dinner and talked and everyone was "satisfied and happy." Prayer said again that he has two brothers and he's the oldest (maybe someday he will share their names- I keep asking!) and that the curriculum at the project is a little different than what they teach at school.